Soilless Agriculture
G. Thiyagarajan*
Water Technology Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (641 003), India
Balaji Kannan
Water Technology Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (641 003), India
V. Sivakumar
Coconut Research Station, Aliyarnagar, Tamil Nadu (642 101), India
M. Manikandan
Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kumulur, Tamil Nadu (621 712), India
M. Nagarajan
Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kumulur, Tamil Nadu (621 712), India
DOI: NIL
Keywords: Aeroponics, Hydroponics, Peat, Rice hull
Abstract
Soil less agriculture is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water and in other mediums, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk. The two main types of hydroponics are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture does not use a solid medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution. The three main types of solution culture are static solution culture, continuous-flow solution culture and aeroponics. The medium culture method has a solid medium for the roots and is named for the type of medium. For all techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic, but other materials have been used including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids, and wood.
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Reference
Gsaba, I. 1995. Growing medium in hydroculture.Plasticulture, 10(84): 45-47.
Olympios, C.M. 1992. Soilless media under protected cultivation. Rockwool, peat, perlite and other substrates. ActaHort., 323: 215-234.